


Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

by queenmismatched



Category: Priest (2011)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Black Hat's real name is Vascar apparently so that's what he's kind of called here, F/M, Romance, Vampires, Violence, Well as happy as you can get with vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 02:02:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14439093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenmismatched/pseuds/queenmismatched
Summary: Black Hat's train reaches Cathedral City. Once there, he learns the truth about the Monsignors and their lifestyles.(“It’s opulent,” the former Priest sneered, baring his elongated canines at the room. He plucked a delicate, half-empty wine glass from the vanity with one hand, his dirty fingers smudging the finery. “It’s lavish, Maddie, and grand, and it’s all a fucking lie!”)





	Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

**Author's Note:**

  * For [musikat on tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=musikat+on+tumblr).



> Wow ok so this is my first time publishing a fic. If it sucks, tell me, but don't be an ass about it.
> 
> I'll probably write more for Vascar and Maddie, but I just wanted to get this one out of the way.

The attack on Cathedral City had been a rousing success.

Wave after wave of bloodthirsty vampires had been unleashed from the confines of Black Hat’s armored train after it reached the end of the rail line, the smog-filled sky blocking out any of the sun that could have damaged them. The imposing walls surrounding the city, as grandiose as they were unremarkable, were little defense against the hordes, restless from travel and chomping at the bit to gorge themselves on hot, sweet blood. Any guards atop the walls were quickly ripped limb from limb, their blood dripping down the barbed wire fencing before any of them could fire off a single shot or trigger any of the alarms. Everything after that was simple.

The city had been sleeping when the train arrived, not that any of the ordinary citizens could have put up any type of fight against the sweeping surge of predators. Without the Priests, the people were defenseless. Every possible plan that anyone could have come up with for the situation had now completely gone to shit. Their guards and alarms had failed. _Their precious walls had failed._

 _“_ Another one of the Church’s lies, _”_ Black Hat had murmured in Maddie’s ear, his soft rumble drowning out the chorus of terrified screams coming from behind the walls. His warm breath had blown her honey blonde hair, making it tickle her neck. A sweet moment before the storm was unleashed. As the massacre progressed, her lover had practically vibrated with giddiness, all but gliding through the gate as it opened for him, stepping directly into the chaos that he adored so much. People running every which way, trying desperately to flee, to cling to their pitiful lives, only to be felled by nature’s perfect predators and ripped to shreds, their bodies and blood devoured with gusto.

Before he’d run off to join the orgy of violence, Vascar had demanded that Maddie be surrounded by at least five familiars at all times during the fighting, and while she would normally have protested, Maddie knew that what was happening was not their typical town overrun, and she’d put up no fight. Her familiars, all hulking masses of flesh brandishing blades of all types, old battle scars contrasting sharply with the paleness of their skin, had escorted her to a building on the outskirts of the city that was as close to safe as they could provide, and refused to let anyone else near her. Several would-be city protectors and fleeing massacre victims had come, and had been promptly sliced in half, their blood and entrails painting the walls and floors of Maddie’s little shelter. She’d winced at the mess, but said nothing. Her pity could not bring them back.

Hours had passed before another familiar found them, bearing news of Black Hat’s successful taking of the Cathedral and the imprisonment of all living Clergymen. Now, with the city securely in his grasp, he had sent for his mate.

That had been a full two hours ago. The trek through the city’s streets was slow going, to say the least, and it was beginning to take its toll on Maddie. Around every corner, something was there to suprise or startle her, be it fires raging through the now-empty shells of buildings or piles of dismembered, half-chewed bodies in the streets. Glass littered the sidewalks from shattered storefronts and the windows of people’s homes from where the vampires had broken through, desperate to get to their prey. Remnants of neon signs and downed power lines sparked dangerously as electricity surged through them, the only thing still working in the ravaged city.

Maddie grimaced as she stepped over a puddle of bloody water, careful not to dirty the hem of her pretty blue dress. She could see the Cathedral up ahead, it’s steeple tall and imposing above the city streets, and it seemed almost alive, like a figure staring down at the people, studying their every move and reading every thought. A shiver rippled down Maddie’s spine at the notion, and she averted her eyes, choosing to focus on the road in front of her. She was the Goddess of the Vampires, dammit, and she would not be _afraid of a building._

“Mistress?” One of her familiars spoke as it wrung it’s spindly hands, it’s nasally voice grating in her ears. “Master has taken refuge in the apartment of the Monsignor at the back of the Cathedral. He would like you to meet him there.”

“Thank you,” came her quiet response as they reached the Cathedral’s steps, their boots clicking loudly on the stone. “I will not need further escort from here. You all may go.”

“The Master said we are to stay with you, Mistress.” Replied a different familiar, brandishing a long, bloody spear. “Until you are in his presence once again, we are to guard you.”

Maddie resisted the urge to sigh, brushing some of her strawberry blonde hair out of her face, but she said nothing as they entered the dark and eerie Cathedral. The interior was cold and gaudy, with grey stone walls and floors, and hideously opulent chandeliers. Even the altar was off puttingly Gothic, and Maddie resisted the urge to try and tip it over as she walked past.

“Whoever decorated this place should be shot,” she grumbled, and her band of familiars cackled devilishly behind her. It was so _awful_ , so different from home, from the light colors and the wood that she was used to. Maddie found herself missing the steady rocking of the train. Dusty and dark as it was, it was _home._ The city was cold, and grey, and she hated it already.

“Which way to Black Hat?” she asked quietly, not willing to give another second to thinking of this awful place.

“Straight back and up the stairs, Mistress.”

The stairs were just as ugly and grey as the rest of the Cathedral, and Maddie hurried up them as fast as she could without tripping over her dress. Each step brought her closer to her lover, closer to his arms and his warm kiss, the only thing that could possibly make this dark city seem at all bright, but it felt as though Maddie could not race up the stairs fast enough. She pointedly ignored the bright, wet smears of blood on the walls and floors as she reached the top of the steps, rushing her way past dozens of bowing and scraping familiars as they fell at her feet, compelled by instinct to show respect to Black Hat’s mate. She didn’t care about them or their respect, or even if her own protection squad was still behind her. All she wanted was her mate, her body longing for him. It had been too long since she’d seen him.

The arched door to the Monsignor’s apartment was decorated with gaudy swirls of metal, a cheap attempt at grandeur, and just as hideous as everything else Maddie had seen in the wretched city. It took all her strength to pull it open, and even more to close it behind her, but once she was inside the safety of the Monsignor’s apartment, Maddie forgot that she was in Cathedral City at all.

The interior of the apartment was nothing at all like the outside. The walls, the color of fresh cream, were decorated with all types of lovely, rare paintings, pops of color and texture against the flat paint. Dark hardwood floors were draped in luxuriously soft looking rugs, and the furniture was heavy, wooden and metal, and unlike anything Maddie had ever seen. The dining table was set for a full meal, with plates piled high with meats, fruits and vegetables, more food than Maddie had ever seen anyone eat, and if no one noticed the tipped over chairs and the smears of blood, one would think that the diners had simply left.

But Maddie knew better.

“Vascar?” she called into the empty room, tiptoeing forward, towards a wide, dark hallway, listening for any sound. “Vascar, are you here?”

No one replied. Maddie drew from her belt one of the small knives that Black Hat had insisted she carry, her fingers curling around the handle with practiced ease as she edged forward. Rooms branched off from the living space in every which direction. A kitchen, a bathroom, even a library, all as grandiose and richly decorated as the dining room, filled with books, art, and furniture unlike anything Maddie had ever seen in the Wastelands.

She found her partner in what had to be the master bedroom, perched on the edge of a large, plush bed, it’s peaked canopy reaching up to the tallest point of the ceiling. He looked so out of place, his clothes dark against the soft, light blue covers, and his scruffy face covered with quickly drying blood. Black Hat didn’t look up as Maddie inched past the door frame, his golden eyes focused on the garment in his bloody hands. It was silk, with a floral pattern, either a nightgown or a robe, and Maddie didn’t have to look far to see where it had come from. Vascar’s signature black hat and coat laid discarded on the floor, right next to the body of a nude female.

Well, what was left of her, anyway.

 _What a mess_ , Maddie mused, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the sight of blood and entrails that seemed to spill endlessly out of the body.

“Didn’t like her taste, love?” Maddie asked with a cheeky grin, hoping to wrestle a smile out of her lover, but he didn’t even look up.

“I can’t stomach whores,” Black Hat mumbled, running a bloody hand over his tired face. The vampire finally looked up at his mate, his usually bright golden eyes seemingly dulled with fatigue. There was a heaviness in his shoulders that Maddie had never seen before, and she decided that she didn’t like it.

“My love,” he murmured, holding his arms open, and Maddie rushed towards him, smiling wide as she knocked him back onto the bed, resting her whole weight upon him. Black Hat’s mouth met hers in a searing kiss, not caring about the blood on his face, and all the tension in Maddie’s body flooded out in an instant. He was here, he was fine, she realized as Black Hat wrapped his arms around her, and this was her favorite place to be in the world. His kiss tasted strongly of iron, but she refused to let it bother her as their mouths moved against each other, perfectly molded together. His scruff tickled her skin, and the blonde giggled, pulling back to rest her forehead on his. Despite the joy of the reunion, Maddie didn’t miss how tight his jaw was, and Maddie frowned.

“What is it, love?” she pressed, cupping his face in her palms. “Are you not happy to see me?”

“I am,” he replied tensely, flashing her a quick, joyless smile. “Of course I am, Angel.”

“Then what’s wrong, Vascar? Are you hurt?”

The vampire shook his head, pressing a kiss to her wrist, but said nothing.

“V, don’t lie to me,” Maddie pleaded. “Whatever it is, love, let me help you. I’m here, let me help.”

“This isn’t something you can help with, Angel.” Black Hat gently pried her hands from his face and sat up, Maddie rolling off of him and onto the soft bed. She watched as he stalked to the nearby vanity, resting his weight on his hands before he finally met his mate’s eyes in the mirror. Neither said anything for a moment, until the vampire sighed.

“Look around, Maddie.” He opened his arms in a grand, sweeping gesture. “What’s wrong here?”

The blonde studied the room around her, tired eyes glancing at the furniture and the decor the way she had before.

“It’s ugly,” she determined finally, and Black Hat barked out a mirthless laugh, running a hand over his face.

“Try again.”

“I don’t think the way you do, love. Just tell me what it is.”

“It’s _opulent_ ,” the former Priest sneered, baring his elongated canines at the room. He plucked a delicate, half-empty wine glass from the vanity with one hand, his dirty fingers smudging the finery. “It’s lavish, Maddie, and grand, and _it’s all a fucking lie!”_

She tried not to jump when he flung the glass into the wall, the remnants raining down in millions of fine shards, but she couldn’t help it.

“We Priests had _nothing,_ do you understand?” Black Hat raged, a fire burning in his golden eyes. Anything he could get his hands on was flung and destroyed, either into the floor or the walls. Nothing was safe. His lips pulled back over his teeth, baring them to the world as he snarled out his rant. “We ate slop, we slept on mats no thicker than a fucking bandaid, and _this_ is how the higher-ups were living?! While we were sweating in the deserts, and bleeding and fucking _dying_ for them and this fucking Church, they slept in cushy beds! They drank wine! They whored!”

One dirty nailed finger pointed angrily at the dead woman split open on the floor as he spat, “She was a whore! Monsignors take a vow of celibacy just as Priests do, and yet, they keep company with prostitutes! They told us that we had to sacrifice for the Church, while they lived in goddamn luxury!”

When Black Hat slammed his clenched fist into the vanity mirror, it burst, the pieces flying out in every which direction, and Black Hat’s whole arm went through the frame and into the wall behind it. Maddie held her breath, sadness coiling in her belly. Her lover had not said much about his time in the Priesthood, but she’d always gotten the impression that there was a serious inequality between his caste and the Church’s higher-ups, and now, it was confirmed. The Clergy let the Priests sweat, toil and bleed, with little to no compensation or comfort, while they themselves lived in grandeur. The Clergy preached piety, humility and charity, yet they dined on roast meats and wine while most of the city starved. Priests were denied even the most basic of comforts- love - while Monsignors shared their beds with women of the night. Dozens of Priests had sacrificed themselves for the Church’s hypocrisy.

 _Vascar died for their hypocrisy,_ she realized, sorrow filling her heart. She watched as his anger ebbed away, replaced by a frustrated grief, evident in the way he slumped into one of the plush chairs of the living space, his head in his hands. He drew in a shaky, wet breath, trying to collect himself, but he couldn’t stop the pitiful sob that bubbled past his blood-stained lips.

“I died for them, Maddie!” he whimpered. “I went to Sola Mira, and I fucking died! For them, for this! So vampires wouldn’t come here and rip them apart, so they could keep living this way while my brothers and sisters suffered!”

Not realizing that she had even moved, Maddie found herself kneeling before Vascar in the chair, cupping his face. When her hand met wetness, she knew he was crying, _actually crying_ , and she could hardly keep the tears from welling in her own green eyes. Tear tracks marred his dirty cheeks, his lower lip wobbling as the understanding set in for him.

_His whole life had been a lie._

“My love,” she whispered, but any other words she had died on her tongue as he let out another gut-wrenching sob, each breath wracking his whole body. Maddie knew that there was nothing she could do to assuage his sadness, but she still drew him down to the floor, holding him to her chest, one hand stroking his hair and the other rubbing his back. She had no idea what his grief felt like, what terrible things he had endured in the name of a Church that ultimately betrayed him. She could be there for her lover, but she could never fully understand.

“All of that is in the past now, sweetheart,” Maddie soothed as his crying subsided into hiccups and the occasional whimper. “You won. You can have your vengeance. The opulence and the grandeur, it’s all yours. All of their luxuries belong to you.”

“And I only had to bring a train full of vampires to their city gates in order to get it.”

Maddie tilted Black Hat’s head up so she could stare into his golden eyes, her thumb stroking his skin.

“So what?” demanded the blonde. “Who cares how you won? You won, love! And you didn’t kill the Monsignors, did you? So, you can have your vengeance! Make them suffer the way you did, make them hurt, and fear, and be without comfort as you were for all those years. You write the final chapter in this Church’s history, V, not them. You and the Queen are bringing about the age of the vampires, so fuck the Church and all their fucking hypocrisy! I know it hurts, sweetheart, but kill the past and move forward. Please, for your own sake?”

Black Hat studied his human love for a moment, as if considering, before he gifted her with a watery, tight-lipped smile. One large, rough hand found its way to her cheek, fingertips gliding over her smooth flesh as he whispered, “This is the life you deserve, Maddie. The riches, the finery. I wish I could give it to you.”

“You have,” said Maddie gently, smiling. “But I don’t need any of it. All I need in this life is to be by your side. Everything else is excess.”

Finally, Black Hat grinned, sharp canines peeking out past his bottom lip as he did. Some of the color had come back to his cheeks, and his teary eyes had dried. He was back to his normal self, and the sight of him filled his lover with joy. The two clambered to their feet, fingers interlocked, and Maddie pulled Vascar’s face to hers in a heated kiss.

“Now,” she purred against his red stained lips. “I do believe you and I have business to see to, yes? A promise was made about making love in Monsignor Orelas’s bed, and I intend to hold you to it.”

“Dunno if this is even Orelas’ room, Angel.”

“Does it matter?”

The vampire chuckled, pushing Maddie gently back until she collapsed onto the plush mattress. The younger woman scooted up the bed until she was up against a mountain of pillows, licking her lips as Vascar stripped his shirt off over his head.

“I should warn you. I’ve got quite a lot of energy now. I fed.”

“I’ll wear you out, love, don’t worry.”

Maddie beckoned her lover forward with one crooked finger, and his replying smirk was full of wicked promise. As he lunged forward to pounce on his mate, Maddie giggled.

_Maybe the city won’t be so bad after all._


End file.
